Architecture

From the time of its conversion to Christianity in the tenth century, the confederation of East Slavic principalities centered round Kyiv entered the cultural sphere of the Byzantine Empire. Builders from Constantinople erected the first churches, but soon the Byzantine influence nurtured a local Russian style. Russian masters working in the broad context of Byzantine art and hence the European artistic tradition attained an originality and superb artistic quality of their own. From its early period (tenth–twelfth c.), a rich architectural tradition developed through the medieval and Muscovite periods, the imperial period, and into the Soviet years. The ability of Russian patrons to use external models, often working with Western European architects, to create masterpieces distinguishes Russian architecture in every period. The monographs, handbooks, encyclopedias, and albums described below survey different periods, present scholarly research, and publish a great deal of visual documentation on a vital branch of world architecture.

St. Petersburg: Palatstso, 2012. Pb. This catalogue of an exhibition at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg displays the highly polished drawings of an architect who shaped the milieu of mid nineteenth century St. Petersburg through a tasteful use of eclectic elements. 47 p., 23 cm, approx. 90 color illus., Rus. More

St. Petersburg: Gatchina, N.d. Pb. The palace ensemble at Gatchina is the least well-known of the suburban palaces outside the former imperial capital of St. Petersburg, partly because it was severely damaged during World War II and partly because it was the last of the palaces to be given museum... More

St. Petersburg: Pavlovsk, 2016. Saddle-stitched. The park around Pavlovsk Palace has almost as architectural and design masterpieces on a par with those of the palace itself, which is not surprising as the same great Western European and Russian architects and designers worked on both. In this compact but informative survey... More

St. Petersburg: Pavlovsk, 2016. The genius of the Russian imperial family was finding artistic talent to carry their architectural projects wherever they could: architects and designers from Scotland, Italy, France and Russia designed the outbuildings of Pavalovsk Palace ensemble, and they are all gems of neoclassical and romantic architecture. Working... More

St. Petersburg: Oraneinbaum, 2006. Pb. This catalogue of an exhibition at Oranienbaum draws together uniforms, arms and armor, maps, the plans of the fortress for Oranienbaum, and works of art from thirteen collections to explore aspects of the Russian court and sketch the life of the heir to the throne... More

St. Petersburg: Istoricheskaia illiustratsiia, 2013. sewn pb. This monograph on Tsarskoe Selo is one of the few that homes in on the suburban palace of St Petersburg as a masterpiece of world architecture. Many archival materials are put to use for the first time, and the author also brings the... More

St. Petersburg: Rostok, 2014. sewn cl. The authors find that the horse figures in sculptural works on squares, streets, and the façades of buildings from various periods in Moscow's history. From monumental sculptures occupying prominent places in architectural ensembles by such major artists as P. N. Klodt to anonymous reliefs... More

Moscow: Komkniga, 2010. 2nd Printing. sewn cl. From the earliest times the Onega River was one of the waterways linking the central Russian lands with the While Sea area, playing an important part in the opening up of the Russian North. The Poonezh’e and the coast of the Onega Bay... More

St. Petersburg: Nevskii rakurs, 2013. The photos published here were taken by an historian of architecture and art photographer. In the former guise, Antoshenkov shoots buildings and sites in St. Petersburg that have aesthetic and historical interest. As an artist creating compositions with a camera, he finds many offbeat subjects... More

St. Petersburg: Serebrianyi vek, 2009. Sewn cl. The influence of British architecture on the parks and architecture of Tsarskoe Selo began in Catherine the Great's reign when she gave major commissions to the Scottish architect Charles Cameron, invited British gardeners to St. Petersburg, and sent Russians such as Vasilii Neelov... More

Moscow: Akademiia khdozhestv / Progress-Traditsiia, 2013. Sewn cl. The author uses archival documents to trace the career of the architect Alexander Kokorinov (1726-72), who prepared the way for the flourishing of neoclassical architecture in Russia. He achieved fame for his design of the ensemble of the Academy of Fine Arts... More

Moscow: Sovpadenie, 2006. sewn pb. In the early eighteenth century Peter the Great wrenched Russian culture westward, which was especially evident in architecture (steepled churches replaced onion-domed ones, for example). Nevertheless, Russian building traditions did not cease to interest and attract architects. As the achievements of medieval architecture began to... More

St. Petersburg: Paritet, 2014. sewn cl. This book is more about the preservation of cultural monuments than about architectural history. The themes running through it are the damage inflicted on the collections and architecture of the palaces outside St. Petersburg by confiscation and sale of works of art by the... More

St. Petersburg: Herm, 1998. sewn pb. Hermitage scholars publish their research on architecture, painting, and decorative arts of the seventeenth and eighteenth; most articles are based on works in the Hermitage’s collections. 303 pp., 5 3/8 x 8 1/8 ins., 93 b-&-w illus., , Rus. More